Meet Lyla Bashan

We recently connected with Lyla Bashan and have shared our conversation below.

Lyla , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

In the sixth grade, I did a report about the Amazon Rainforest. It was the early ’90s and the environmental movement was still somewhat nascent – having really gone into full gear in the ’70s with the publishing of Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring. I grew up in Portland, Oregon, so I was saturated in a context that cared about the environment, human rights, equality, etc. But at the tender age of 12, I hadn’t yet been exposed to many of these issues. So doing this report was really eye opening to me – it was the first time I really comprehended that there was an “environment” and it was being destroyed by human actions. This knowledge erupted a geyser of caring in me that has followed me the rest of my life and was the spark of my 25-year long career in international development. Because of that report, as a 12 year old, I decided I wanted to commit my life to helping to protect the environment. And then a few years later, in high school, I started a youth group at my parents new age church, Unity, and I was at a national conference of Unity youth groups when I met a United Nations official who had helped start the University for World Peace in Costa Rica. Talking with him I learned about the study of Peace and Conflict Resolution. This was another “ah hah” moment for me, when I realized people were unlikely to care about protecting the environment if they were living in a war zone, so I decided I wanted to study international peace and conflict resolution, which I ended up getting my Master’s Degree in, to help people live in peace so that they could care about the environment. And then, when I was in college, I interned (and later worked) with Mercy Corps, a humanitarian relief and development non-governmental organization. And this was the connecting dot on the triangle for me — people were unlikely to care about protecting the environment if they were living in a conflict zone or couldn’t provide for their family’s basic needs, so my “minor” in grad school was in International Development (my college degree was in International Relations, which established a strong foundation to specialize in graduate school). And now I’ve spent the past 25 years working around the world in international development – trying to help people live lives of dignity so that they could care for their families and for the environment.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My life has always centered around a single through-line: doing what I can to help make the world a better place – and trying to inspire others to do the same. For the past 25 years, I have worked in international development, beginning with NGOs such as Mercy Corps and InterAction, and then spending 19 years as a diplomat with the State Department and later with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

At the State Department, I worked on conflict prevention, stabilization, and foreign assistance reform, supporting programs across Sub-Saharan Africa that promoted peace, resilience, and community recovery. When I joined USAID, my diplomatic career took me across Guatemala, Tajikistan, Armenia, and Jordan. In Guatemala, I managed democracy and justice programs; in Tajikistan, I led a health, education, and governance team and negotiated agreements with the government; in Armenia, I directed the Mission’s entire $120 million portfolio and represented the U.S. government with senior officials, including during a peaceful revolution; and in Jordan, I helped lead USAID’s $270 million democracy and governance office, negotiating key reform benchmarks and guiding sensitive policy discussions with senior leaders. Across these roles, I focused on strategy, program design, and creating partnerships that helped improve people’s lives.

As part of my effort to encourage others to help make the world a better place, I wrote a book published in 2018 by Red Press, Global: An Extraordinary Guide for Ordinary Heroes, which is all about helping people to understand global systems and issues to inspire and empower them to engage in creating a better world. That book reflects my passion for global citizenship, compassion, and the ability of ordinary people to create positive change. In many ways, it is a written expression of what has motivated my entire career.

This past year, starting in the summer of 2024, my husband, a teacher, and I decided our children were growing up too fast, so we took a planned year off of my diplomatic service to travel through Asia, live out of backpacks and Airbnbs, and homeschool/worldschool the kids while on the road. It was a once-in-a-lifetime year of bonding, adventure, and exploration – and then, halfway through, our lives imploded. USAID was closed, and overnight we lost our source of income, the framework for our lives (we would go where the USG told us to go, for the length they told us to stay, live where they told us to live, have our kids go to where they suggested they go to school, etc), and my meaningful diplomatic career. I was still five years away from being retirement-eligible after 19 years of service, so the loss wasn’t only professional, it reshaped the rest of our lives because we were no longer receiving the retirement I had worked decades for. The international development sector in the U.S. was also decimated, meaning the natural next steps for someone with my background had disappeared.

I went through a true period of reckoning – an existential crisis of asking who I wanted to be, what kind of life I wanted moving forward, and how I could continue making a positive impact when the path I had spent decades building was suddenly gone. What I discovered was that my passion for strategy, partnership-building, and community-centered development was still strong – and that the industry that could benefit most from my experience was one I personally love: travel and tourism.

Travel has been one of the great joys of my life. My love for it started with my first trip abroad to Japan in college (Japanese was my minor and I did my college study abroad there), and it never slowed down. When my oldest child was born during my first diplomatic posting in Guatemala, we had him in Hawai‘I (where my parents live), and he was on a plane six weeks later. By his second birthday, he had already been to seven countries. Travel shapes how our family learns, connects, and experiences the world – and it continues to bring us joy.

So I took everything I learned in diplomacy, development, strategy, and global partnership-building, and I launched Bashan Impact Solutions, a consultancy that helps tourism developers, investors, and governments gain competitive advantage through strategic social impact. I help clients build community trust, strengthen government relationships, engage local SMEs, and design credible impact strategies that reduce risk, accelerate approvals, and support sustainable destination growth. In short, I help tourism leaders succeed by investing in the places and people that make destinations thrive.

I’m also enlisting my former colleagues – diplomats, international development leaders, and impact experts – to serve as Global Impact Partners as I grow my clientele. This way, Bashan Impact Solutions can provide a broad array of technical expertise, local knowledge, and impactful skills to our clients – providing boutique service enhanced by global knowledge.

What excites me most is the opportunity to bring decades of experience in diplomacy and international development to an industry I adore. Travel has shaped my life, and now I get to help shape the future of travel in ways that prioritize community well-being, cultural integrity, and shared value. I love helping companies create destinations where visitors have meaningful experiences and local communities genuinely benefit. It feels like the perfect marriage of expertise and passion.

The next creative chapter I am building is the Global TV Series, a trio of purpose-driven, human-centered shows that each explore a different dimension of global citizenship, kindness, and community. All three shows are inspired by my 25 years living and working around the world as a diplomat and international development leader – years spent reducing friction between communities and external stakeholders, building shared-benefit models, and facilitating coordination across governments, NGOs, and local partners. The Global series brings those experiences to screen, shining a light on people and places that rarely get a platform, and revealing how cooperation, creativity, and kindness quietly shape our world. Together, the Global shows form a joyful, cinematic celebration of cultural resilience, human connection, and the goodness that exists everywhere. Their purpose is simple but profound: to spark curiosity, expand empathy, and invite audiences, of all ages, to see themselves as everyday heroes capable of making the world better in small but meaningful ways. I just have to figure out how to get them made!

In addition, as an extension of my passion for do-goodery, I’ve launched the Global Goodness Movement, initially through a TikTok and Instagram pages to encourage people to become “purveyors of kindness” in their everyday lives. It is an effort to make goodness contagious – to celebrate small acts of compassion, to inspire people to look up from their routines, and to make positive impact part of daily life. In many ways, it is the spiritual companion to my book, Global, and a reflection of the values that have shaped my entire career.

And, of course, professionally, the big milestone is that Bashan Impact Solutions has officially launched, and I am expanding my work with developers, governments, and investors who want to build tourism destinations where business success and community well-being reinforce each other. I’m rolling out new services around destination stewardship, government coordination, and impact readiness – and I’m excited to help shape a more inclusive, resilient, and community-centered future for global travel.

Because we were living out of backpacks in Asia, with all of our worldly possessions in long-term storage, when USAID was closed and I was fired, we had no idea where we should move to since we had planned on moving to the next country where I had a diplomatic assignment. Since I was going through my existential crisis, we decided we would move where my husband got a job teaching. Thankfully, he got a job teaching on the Big Island of Hawaii. I say that, for life to chew us up and spit us out, I’m grateful it spit us here. I mourn my career and retirement, but I am grateful to get to see my parents all the time and to be in such a beautiful place – the one place we’ve consistently called home as we’ve lived abroad for the past 15 years. Life has an interesting way of working out!

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, I think the three qualities that shaped my journey the most were perseverance, curiosity (with a dollop of self-kindness), and trusting my instincts.

Perseverance is essential – it’s not about being unshakable; it is about allowing yourself to feel lost or discouraged or confused, then choosing to step forward anyway. The things worth doing in life aren’t always easy, and persevering is the main way I accomplish my goals. For example, I wrote my book at night after work when my kids went to bed, when they were at swim class, while I was at airports during layovers on international work trips. To develop perseverance, you need to have faith in yourself and your goals and know that they are worth working hard for! Once you have that vision, which is your motivation, then you set your intention and, from there, you find the time and you keep putting one foot in front of another. It’s like that saying, “there are no failures, only delayed successes.” But if you don’t try or you give up, you don’t give yourself that opportunity to reach success. Practice perseverance in small ways: try new things, recover from setbacks, and give yourself credit every time you keep going. You build perseverance like a muscle.

Curiosity opened every door in my life – from moving to Japan for study abroad in college, to traveling throughout Sub-Saharan Africa as a Conflict Prevention Officer for the State Department, to moving my family all over the world in support of my goal to be a force of positive change in the world, to traveling through Asia for a year with my family. Curiosity makes you braver, more compassionate, and far more adaptable. For those starting out, nurture curiosity by saying “yes” to experiences that feel uncomfortable. Every time you stretch beyond what you know, your world expands. And, while you’re at it, be kind to yourself! Living in curiosity will take you into the unknown (and the grand!) and you may not nail it out of the park every time and that’s ok. Being good enough is better than being perfect because it is what will get you out there, living the life of your dreams.

And finally, trusting my instincts has been the quiet force guiding all my decisions – especially as I get older, I have realized that there is no roadmap in life and that trusting your instinct is the best resource you will ever have. Some people might think that instincts are woo-woo and not to be taken seriously, but really your instincts are wiser than you think; they come from your lived experience, your values, and your inner knowing. For anyone early in their journey, spend time listening inward. Notice what energizes you. Notice what feels misaligned. And be kind to yourself as you figure it out – clarity comes slowly, and that is perfectly okay.

If I could offer one piece of encouragement, it is this: you already have everything you need inside you. Perseverance, curiosity (mixed with a good dose of self-kindness), and intuition will take you farther than any perfect plan ever will – because it turns out that saying, “life is what’s happening when you’re making other plans”, is totally true! You can’t control what happens to you, only how you respond to it, so keep yourself joyful – it will fortify you on your path.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

My ideal clients are tourism leaders – whether developers, investors, operators, or government partners – who are genuinely eager to grow their business and understands that long-term success in today’s landscape requires more than capital. The clients I work best with are the ones who recognize that earning government trust, strengthening community relationships, reducing friction, and aligning with national priorities are now essential for approvals, resilience, and competitiveness. They are forward-looking, ambitious, and committed to building destinations where business success and community well-being reinforce each other.

Ideal clients are those who want to accelerate approvals, reduce social and political risk, build a reliable and inclusive workforce, differentiate the guest experience, strengthen their local supply chain, and increase long-term asset value by integrating credible strategic social impact into their core business model. They see the value in cultural stewardship, shared-value development, and operating in alignment with global frameworks – not as philanthropy, but as a smart, ROI-generating business strategy.

In short, my ideal clients want to grow – they understand that growth is faster, smoother, and more sustainable when you invest in people, partnerships, and place. It is a win-win – a business model built to thrive in a changing world.

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Lyla Bashan

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